Buried lighting apparatus is often used for outdoor lighting, particularly landscape lighting. Apparatus of that type is well suited for such purposes--substantially all of the apparatus is beneath the surface of the earth and, therefore, is visually and physically unobtrusive. As to the latter characteristic, an apparatus of the in-ground type buried in a grassy area does not preclude running a lawnmower directly above it.
In general, there are two types of buried lighting apparatus, namely the "well" type and the "in-ground" type. The well type includes an elongate housing, e.g., a length of PVC pipe, extending into the earth with the top edge about in registry with the earth surface. Notably, the lamp-supporting fixture and lamp are mounted atop such housing. Such fixture and lamp are thereby exposed for easy "re-lamping" (replacing a burned-out lamp) and other maintenance.
The housing is open at the bottom and, often, a bed of gravel is placed in the lower portion of the housing and/or in the earth below the housing. The gravel facilitates water drainage.
On the other hand, in-ground lighting apparatus includes a housing that is sealed at the bottom and top, at least the latter by a removable cover. The lamp, lamp-supporting fixture, lamp-powering electrical components and the like are within the housing and the top cover includes a lens through which light projects upwardly from the housing to "uptight" trees, shrubs, building walls and the like.
While the many known embodiments of in-ground lighting apparatus have been generally satisfactory for the intended purposes, there are some characteristics which, to many, are disadvantageous. For example, some have a rigidly-mounted lamp which cannot be positioned for optimum uplighting aesthetics except by burying the housing at an angle. Of course, such buried housing cannot be easily repositioned.
Another type of known in-ground lighting apparatus mounts the lamp in such a way that it can be moved about a single pivot axis, i.e., can be moved to direct light only within a fan-shaped arc. To state it in other words, there is no opportunity for "full-circle" adjustment.
And certain known apparatus which have adjustably-mounted lamps are configured in such a way that it is difficult to grasp and replace a burned-out lamp. (This is no trivial concern. A large commercial property may have a substantial number of in-ground lighting apparatus--maintenance time and expense relating to re-lamping can be significant.)
Another characteristic of certain known in-ground lighting apparatus used with, e.g., high intensity discharge (HID) lamps involves the fact that the lamp ballast is in a housing separate from that in which the lamp is mounted. There are more components for the installer to handle and more wiring to install.
Still another disadvantage of known in-ground lighting apparatus is that they are configured to accept only a particular lamp. That is to say, there is no flexibility as to wattage and type of lamp which may be mounted in such apparatus.
Another disadvantage of some known in-ground lighting apparatus is that they are installed using "wire nuts" securing together the bare ends of two electrically-connected wires. If components need to be removed for service, the wire nuts need to be removed and the bare wire ends remaining in the enclosure taped or otherwise covered to prevent accidental contact with, e.g., the grounded enclosure.
An improved in-ground lighting apparatus and related method which addresses disadvantages of earlier in-ground lighting apparatus would be an important advance in the art.